


Attention

by Asynchronous



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Gen, Inconsistent writing style, M/M, Stress, intentionally ambiguous relationship, intentionally disturbing virgil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 08:26:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12744639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asynchronous/pseuds/Asynchronous
Summary: In which Roman and Logan accidentally become friends (and maybe more, it's intentionally ambiguous).The first chapter is crack, the second chapter is serious, and you do not have to read either one to understand the other, so take your pick.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on Tumblr with the statement "there's no way this is going on my AO3," but y'know what? It's grown on me. This is actually kinda cute.

“Psst. Logan.”

Roman was currently hanging from the top of the railing on the stairs in Logan’s room, dressed in all black, including a ski mask.

“You know, Roman, we have a floor here,” Logan responded without looking up from the book he was reading.

“What? No, Logan! You ruined the dramatic moment,” Roman pouted.

Logan rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “Oh, right, of course, forgive me. Go ahead, start over.”

“Thank you,” said Roman, still sounding a little indignant. He cleared his throat and said his line again. “Psst. Logan.”

“Oh, no, there is someone in my room, I wonder who it could be. Please, mysterious voice, reveal yourself,” Logan said flatly, still not looking up.

“Okay, if you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll just leave,” Roman threatened.

Logan had to admit, he was curious what Roman wanted. So he waved his necktie as an oath of sincerity, and Roman accepted the surrender. He leaped down from the railing and stood in front of Logan, removing his mask for a dramatic reveal.

“You know, we’re not so different, you and I,” Roman grinned.

Logan gasped as theatrically as he could manage. “Roman? I never took you to be the villainous type!”

“I’m full of surprises, but let’s cut to the chase. We all know that you and I ultimately want the same thing out of life.”

“Thomas’s well-being?” Logan ventured.

“Attention.”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Okay, well, yes, that too.”

“And the others, well, they just don’t understand us! You and I are the true geniuses of the mindscape, and it’s time we start being recognized for it. So, an offer. You give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want,” Roman drawled deviously, examining his nails in true super-villain fashion.

“…Attention?”

“Call me pretty, you Mathlete Extraordinaire.”

Logan considered for a moment, before shrugging. “I must concede, you’re the prettiest prince in the mindscape.”

Roman beamed, pleased that Logan accepted his offer. He sat on the floor next to the logical side and rested his arms in Logan’s lap, looking up at him fondly. “I'm the only Prince in the mindscape, but I'll accept the backhanded compliment, given that it comes from such a brilliant mind.”

“Just because there’s no competition here doesn’t make my statement any less of a compliment. But if you must compete to feel like you’ve won, rest assured, you have my favorite face of all 7 billion people on Earth.”

“Because it’s also your face?”

“Well. Yes.”

“Well, Logan, you sure do know what an attractive face looks like, and that’s not surprising at all, considering you’re so smart, and know so much.”

“That’s very charming of you to say, Roman. I’m sure you’ve won over many hearts with your smooth talking.”

They continued like this for nearly an hour, before Virgil entered and interrupted.

“Yo, Teach, I need to borrow your-” Virgil froze. “What’s going on in here???”

By this point, Roman had climbed into Logan’s lap, and Logan had his arms around Roman’s waist.

“Hello, Virgil," Logan smirked. "I’m just indulging in my appreciation for fine art.”

“Y’know what? I don’t. I don’t actually need anything. Except to never see this again. Bye.” Virgil sank out hastily.

“Well, that was amusing, but I should probably get back to work,” Logan sighed.

“Yeah, so should I,” agreed Roman, standing up to leave. “But maybe we could do this again sometime. You know how much I love to mess with Virgil.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “Indeed. Goodnight, Roman.”

“Goodnight, Chess Captain.”


	2. Chapter 2

Well, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

It had started out just for fun. A game, an unconventional battle of words, an excuse to indulge in a mutual appreciation for feeling appreciated, nothing more. Roman and Logan had taken to giving each other over-the-top, teasing compliments simply as something to do, mostly when Virgil was in the room because the look on his face was priceless. Then it became so much of a habit that they started doing it pretty much any time they saw each other, a greeting of sorts.

“Good morning, Logan. It sure is a lovely day, isn’t it? The sun shines nearly as brilliantly as you do.”

“Why thank you, Roman. The light you bring to my life is a truly worthy rival for the same sun’s luminescence.”

These exchanges had become commonplace, Roman’s words said with his usual dramatic flair and Logan’s uttered as matter-of-factly as anything else he might say. The others were baffled by the development, but it was slightly preferable to their usual antagonism (even to Virgil, though he still found it disturbing), so they let it happen. No one was sure why they did it, though, considering it didn’t seem all that genuine.

At least at first.

The shift was gradual, but over time, it became clear that the two usually self-centered sides were starting to develop for each other something that could be classified as fondness. It probably wouldn’t pass as affection under normal circumstances, but in any interaction involving Logan, the definition of an affectionate act had to be a little broader, and Logan was definitely expressing his own version of love. He made greater attempts to acknowledge Roman’s contributions to discussions, and instead of instantly trying to argue about it, he attempted to put his own more realistic spin on the Prince’s suggestions. Roman, likewise, became a bit more defensive of excessive criticisms against Logan, though that didn’t happen as much lately anyway. Everyone had been making a greater attempt to get along. Logan and Roman just had a slightly unconventional approach, and it worked far better than expected.

The two sides in question, of course, were completely unaware of what was happening. They didn’t think anything of the way they had started to spend more time together and speak more gently towards each other. And no one wanted to bring it up, either; if the two knew they were acting differently, they might stop, and no one wanted their shouting matches to return.

Surprisingly, Logan was the first to notice it. His entire purpose was observing patterns, after all, so eventually he had to make the connection that their patterns of communication were different from what they used to be. After some observation, he began to realize that they hadn’t had a real argument in several days, and their ratio of friendly to unfriendly interaction had shifted towards the majority friendly side of the spectrum. Not only that, but it seemed to be a healthy change for everyone involved. With the two most stubborn sides actually listening to each other, the whole environment felt a little less tense.

Hmm.

Consequently, it was Logan who decided to make the first intentional effort towards genuine friendship. Roman had been having a particularly rough day; everything he attempted to create was entirely different than how he imagined it, and he was becoming increasingly frustrated. Which was how they ended up where they were now.

“They may not be the perfect incarnation of what you intended, but I think they’re still good,” Logan said gently. It wasn’t 100% true. The most recent failed attempt of the day was brownies, and they were a little too dry for Logan’s taste. But still, they certainly weren’t inedible, and he had a hypothesis to test: if he supported Roman instead of insulting him for his mistakes, then Roman would feel encouraged enough to practice and improve at creating the things he wanted to create.

Roman had already opened his mouth to argue, but shut it quickly upon Logan’s unexpected kindness. He then opened it again, clearly not quite sure what to do now that he didn’t have to defend himself against Logan’s judgement. Eventually, he decided to sigh, the day’s frustration visibly melting out of him. As he closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders, Logan pretended not to notice the single tear the prince hadn’t been able to hold back; he’d been fighting back far more than that for several hours. “Thank you, Logan,” he said, softly and wobbly. And for a moment, Logan was afraid he might actually cry, and while Logan understood that crying was sometimes healthy and necessary, it was absolutely not his department, and he kind of wanted to run. But then, gratefully, Roman reopened his eyes, grabbed a brownie, and bit into it grumpily, declaring, “I still think they suck, but thanks for the encouragement or whatever.”

Logan simply nodded, a bit overwhelmed by the exchange that was uncharacteristic for both of them. It was a good overwhelmed, though. Probably.

Eager to call it quits for the day, Roman patted Logan’s shoulder and jogged off to his room. Once there, he immediately stripped down and settled into bed. He didn’t necessarily plan on sleeping yet, but he was done attempting anything productive for the day. It was time to use Virgil’s “hide under the covers until the sun goes away” method of problem solving. Besides, Roman had a lot to think about.

Logan had been unusually nice today. What was up with that?

It wasn’t necessarily that Logan was ever mean, of course; defensive, sure, blunt, sure, but he rarely went out of his way to be mean. It was just that he never went out of his way to be nice, either, and his opinions were critical more often than they were satisfactory. Normally, in cases like today, Logan would have said something along the lines of “I’m not sure how you managed to mess this up. It’s a recipe. You follow the recipe, you get brownies. It’s a straightforward process.” Logan wouldn’t have even necessarily realized it was a mean thing to say.

But today, he had apparently taken the extra mental step to consider that full, unfiltered honesty was not the best policy for that circumstance. Why?

In fact, now that Roman was thinking about it, the two of them had been getting along far better than usual lately. And it seemed to have all started with the ridiculous compliment war. Goodness, that had been a joke! How had it managed to turn into… friendship?

Logan was his best friend now, and he hadn’t even noticed. Wow. What a great friend.

That won’t do at all, he thought. When the magnificent Prince Roman sets his mind to something, he gives it his all! I’m going to be the best best friend the universe has ever seen. Step aside, Samwise Gamgee.

A few days later, Roman found his chance to prove himself in the form of a frustrated scream from Logan’s room.

“Don’t worry, Logan! I’ll save you!” Roman shouted, springing up from the couch and dashing to Logan’s room, sword drawn.

Logan’s eye twitched in annoyance. “Roman… not all problems can be solved with a sword,” he growled.

Roman looked away sheepishly and put the sword away. “I’m sorry. I just. Wanted to be prepared for anything. Just in case.”

Logan sighed and turned back to the giant whiteboard in front of him. “It… doesn’t fit,” he murmured sadly.

Roman crossed the room to stand next to the logical side. “What doesn’t fit?” he asked, eyeing the scattered writing curiously.

“It’s a schedule,” Logan explained. “But Thomas has too much to do tomorrow, and no matter what I do, it’s not all going to fit. I can’t make it fit.”

“…ah.”

“I’m tired of this constantly happening. Thomas seems to never get enough sleep anymore, and yet he’s still not doing everything he wants to, and I’m tired of constantly telling him he can’t do things, but he keeps giving me more than I can optimally manage, and… I don’t know what to do.”

Roman blinked in shock. Logan had just admitted to him that he didn’t know something. More than that, he admitted that he felt that way often. He had never seen that side of Logan before.

And looking at the list of tasks on the whiteboard, Roman realized that a good chunk of it was his fault.

He cleared his throat. “I um… I’m sorry. You’re right. The rest of us shouldn’t try to fit so much into one day, and yet lately overscheduling has become a bit of a habit. It’s a little too late to change how tomorrow goes, and we’ll probably have to lose sleep over it, but… In the future, I’d like to start working with you to make sure we don’t overschedule again. Okay?”

Logan still looked tense, but his shoulders relaxed, even if infinitesimally. “That would be very helpful. Thank you.”

Roman pulled him into a hug. “You work very hard to keep us all healthy, and we don’t appreciate you nearly enough. For that, I truly apologize.” He felt Logan shaking slightly, and he felt his own stomach twist at the thought that he had contributed to that. No more. “But I think what you have up there is about as good as it’s going to get tonight, so what do you say we go read some poems and then go to bed?”

Logan nodded into his shoulder, so Roman pulled back and took his hand. They sunk into the common space and read and chattered about their own interpretations of what they were reading, until finally, they fell asleep, snuggled together on the couch.


End file.
